Representing the 13th District of Pennsylvania

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WASHINGTON, DC – In a pointed response to President Trump’s statements from the G-20 summit earlier this week, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-13), a Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today introduced legislation to prohibit the United States from collaborating with Russia on matters of cyber security. The legislation is cosponsored by Congressmen Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) and Ted Lieu (CA-33). Boyle also introduced a similar amendment to the National Defense Authorization bill, H.R. 2810, on the House floor this week for consideration.

“When it comes to American security, we must be clear and unwavering,” Congressman Boyle said in a statement ahead of the introduction of H.R. 3191, the No Cyber Cooperation with Russia Act. “There’s no room for reckless comments or actions that threaten our democracy and alienate our true allies. The President’s comments are indicative of the lack of seriousness he is giving this issue, and just the latest example of him playing fast and loose with American foreign policy and our place in the world. This legislation will formalize our rejection of President Trump’s delusional plans and our shared commitment to keeping our nation safe from foreign aggressors like Russia. Frankly, I am appalled that this legislation is necessary.”

After the President tweeted Sunday about plans to form an “impenetrable Cyber Security unit” with Vladimir Putin, Congressman Boyle announced his intention to bring the issue before Congress in order to prevent such coordination. A chorus of bipartisan voices from across the country joined him in condemning the President’s plan as a serious threat to American security.

“You don’t need to be a computer science major to know that sharing cyber intelligence with the top perpetrator of cyber attacks weakens U.S. national security,” said Rep. Lieu. “When the Russians get their hands on cyber intelligence, they exploit it – as they did last month with the NotPetya malware attack targeting Ukraine and the West. It is a sad state of affairs when Congress needs to prohibit this type of information sharing with an adversary, but since we apparently do, I am proud to introduce the No Cyber Cooperation with Russia Act with my friends Brendan Boyle and Ruben Gallego. I urge my colleagues across the aisle to join us in sending a clear message that Congress will not stand for this proposal to undermine U.S. national security.”

"President Trump has proposed plenty of dumb ideas in his first six months in office, but a cybersecurity partnership with Russia might be the very worst," said Rep. Gallego. "Simply put, we would be inviting the fox into the hen house. I'm proud to support legislation to block this initiative because America should be confronting Putin — not coddling him like President Trump has."

H.R. 3191 would explicitly prevent the U.S. government from joining any type of partnership or working group with Russia that focuses on cyber issues. Hostile cyber offensives like the hacking of the 2016 U.S. presidential election have come to define Russia’s approach to foreign policy.

Earlier this year, Congressman Boyle introduced H.R. 1997, the Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act. In sharp contrast to President Trump’s proposed collaboration with Russia, H.R. 1997 would solidify U.S. cyber cooperation with our close ally Ukraine, which has been the target of significant Russian cyber attacks.

“At this crucial time for our nation’s cyber defenses, we should be shoring up our relationships with countries like Ukraine who share our values, not opening the door to our most vile intruders,” stated Congressman Boyle.
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